IAN Rush once said, somewhat ridiculously, that living in Italy was like living in a foreign country.

IAN Rush once said, somewhat ridiculously, that living in Italy was like living in a foreign country. How right he was.

The Liverpool legend-cum-Juventus flop might have been stating the obvious but there is no doubt that footballers in the UK live a different life to their counterparts in Serie A.

Diomansy Kamara knows about both Leagues, having played for former Serie A club Modena before moving to England with Portsmouth and then Albion.

At Albion's training HQ 'Joe' is often one of the last men standing following a session.

While some players may be showered, changed and back home before the lunchtime edition of Neighbours, Kamara can still be found pounding the treadmill or honing his ball skills.

Tony Mowbray has nothing but admiration for the Senegal international.

With the Baggies academy up and running, he hopes the next generation of Albion stars will embrace a similar culture.

"Having consummate professionals is the type of culture you want at your football club," said the Albion manager. "I was watching MUTV the other day and Ryan Giggs, the Nevilles and Paul Scholes were talking about the impact Eric Cantona had there.

"Cantona didn't go out to try and change the culture at Manchester United but he just did it by doing what he did - by staying behind doing extra work on his finishing and his technique.

"The young players saw the benefits and talent he had and thought that if that what they needed to do to be as good as him then they were going to do it.

"You hope the dedication of a player of Joe Kamara's quality does rub off on other people.

"At the end of session you might take a group of play-ers off to do individual work and you hope the others show initiative and go and practice themselves.

"Yet I don't take Joe away to practice his little tricks and stepovers - he does that on his own. He takes three or four balls away to the far corner of the pitch on his own. You hope that culture rubs off on other people."

Mowbray admits that, from his experience, foreign players have led the way in terms of professionalism - although there have been exceptions.

"The culture is different abroad and the foreign players I have worked with in the past do seem to be more professional and their training regimes seem to be of a higher intensity," added Mowbray. "They bring that over here with them and that can only be a positive.

"There are examples of when that is not the case and they are here for the wrong reasons, but there are plenty that are very dedicated and focused on the demands that are placed on them.

"Joe Kamara played in Italy and over there they go away two days before every game and spend lots of time away from their families." Mowbray admitted not all players had been willing to embrace his ideas.

"The culture in the UK is different and it's very hard to change that culture overnight," he added. "I have tried to change a few things, but it's not easy.

"British-based players have done the same things since leaving school and no team in this country would think about spending two days away prior to a game, locked in a training camp where everybody is eating together and doing the same things.

"It just doesn't happen here, whereas in Italy it is more professional. There it's your job and everything else comes second. You have to be careful of changing the culture too much.

"You need to drip things in and over the period things change and so no-one really notices."